Topic clusters are not a new concept in search engine optimization. For the past few years, Google and other search engines have developed algorithms to crawl and rank websites based on the network of related and interconnected pieces of content. Take your business into 2018 with a smart content strategy using topic clusters!

Getting started with topic clusters for your business' blog can seem a bit daunting at first, particularly if your content creation process isn't quite streamlined yet. Check out this outline of topic cluster implementation and embrace the cohesiveness of your content!

The average open rate for business' mailing lists is around 17%. That means that, on average, 83% of email marketing goes unopened! Why are open and click-through rates so low?

Let's face it, writing compelling emails can be tough. You're usually sending something out just for the sake of keeping up appearances or to announce your new product or service that came out last week (too little, too late!). Meanwhile, your audience probably receives 10 other nearly identical emails each day. Do you think they're going to take the time to open any of those, let alone yours?

Don't worry, though, we've got you covered. Listed here are some of the biggest issues that we see with email marketing campaigns. We've got some fool-proof suggestions for building out your next email!

Some may think that content marketing has no place in marketing and that traditional outbound marketing is the right way to go. However, if you’re one of the people that realizes how digital marketing is taking over the marketing world, this statement couldn’t be more false.

If you want to be able to get your website found on the internet, it’s important that your SEO strategy is up to par. The best way to do this is byproducing quality content. Without quality content, even the best SEO strategies will fail.

Writing quality content comes with a lot of benefits that traditional outbound marketing does not allow for. The following points will touch on just a few of the areas affected by a lack of quality content and how the addition of better content could fix them.

There's one unavoidable truth in the world of inbound marketing: content is king.

Any decent digital marketing campaign will include an emphasis on content creation. Creating fresh and exciting content can boost your SEO, make your website more appealing to visitors, and guide potential customers through the buyer's journey.

Still, content creation isn't all fun and games. Cranking out consistently killer content requires a huge amount of effort, and sometimes you still miss the mark. If the quality of your content is getting in the way of your goals, it's time to purge.

It's time for an evaluation of what aspects of your blog are working foryou, what needs tweaking, and what needs to get thrown away.

We’ve been seeing a lot of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) vs. PPC (Pay-Per-Click) stories lately, and while these are two distinct marketing choices, we don’t perceive them as opposing points of view, but rather as two sides of the same coin.

Both SEO and PPC are useful and have their own roles in any complete digital marketing strategy. SEO is a long-term enterprise, while PPC is best used for specific marketing campaigns. Knowing how and when to use each is crucial to the success of any business.

Above the Fold - Any website content that appears on screen before scrolling. Originally used in print media to refer to the front page of a newspaper that appeared above where the paper was folded.

A/B Testing - The process of testing two different versions of something in order to compare analytics and determine the effectiveness of each version. Used to optimize an ad campaign, landing page, or any other aspect of digital marketing.

Analytics - The collection and interpretation of statistical data involving the way users interact with a website or ad. Typical analytics data includes number of visitors, time spent on page, CTR, and bounce rate.

Attribution - The act of identifying the steps a customer followed through a marketing funnel in order to give credit to each step. A typical example of steps might include PPC ad to landing page to thank you page, or blog 1 to blog 2 to landing page to thank you page. You can read more about attribution models here.

Banner Image - Also called the Hero Image. Banner Images are the main image displayed at the top of a website.

Bounce Rate - The percentage of visitors to a page that did not interact with that page (click on any other links) before leaving the site.

Carousel - A collection of Rich Cards displayed on a SERP.

Cookies - Short text files sent from a website to a user’s computer. Cookies are usually used to retain login credentials, identify former visitors, and customize a website experience.

Conversion - When a visitor or lead becomes a customer. A conversion occurs at the time of a sale to the visitor or lead.